Power Antenna Mast Cable Repalcement Steps

I pulled this from the 92 Roadmaster Sedan refurbishment thread (https://gmlongroof.4umer.com/t13511p50-such-a-deal-garage-find-92-roadmaster-sedan#142849 ) .

I thought it might be helpful to have this searchable here on the forum, because I'm sure others may tackle this project. I plan on doing these on my wagon if I lose a cable again, rather than just going used....used will only last so long.

Hope it helps someone! I learned as I went!

9/25/17 - Evening project, replace the Power Antenna Cable.

Replacement Antenna cable from TheAntennaSource.com


Was able to get broken antenna down this far to remove it.  Used a flat-blade screwdriver and rubber mallet to tap the chrome retaining nut loose.




Now removed the black plastic angled trim bezel and washer.


Next unplug the grey power plug and antenna cable, and finally remove the #10 bolt on the lower mount and carefully slide the antenna out...don't scratch the paint or bend the mast.

Remove #10 bolt here.


Antenna removed and ready for surgery.


Carefully pry off the gold clips...these suckers will fly away into space if you are not careful!




Gold clips removed



Now you need to carefully drill out the case rivets.





Stubborn rivets!



Now use vice-grips to hold the old upper mast and unscrew the button from the end.



Now carefully pry the case apart



Case removed...where was this old cable broken??? Looked to be all there...but look closer...


The old cable broke off at the very end, right where it fit into the metal "fish-hook".



Mast tube removed and gear removed


I added lithium grease to the case and gears/gear teeth. Not a lot...but a nice thin coat.




9/25/17 - Next I removed the new cable from the bag.


Threading the new cable through the mast tube


New metal end of cable through old mast, ready to re-install chrome button tip.



Chrome button tip screwed on new cable end.


Next I extended the mast fully so only the end with the fish-hook was out, clipped the hook end into the white plastic gear spool, and carefully fitted back into the motor case. Then I added a thin bead of clear silicon to keep moisture out. There was silicon here when the case was opened, but it tore apart when the case was separated.



Case back together and clips installed. At this point I went back to the car and plugged the antenna in, and had Eddie turn the radio on to pull the antenna back into the case, and then to test that it would re-extend. Once you know it works, go back to the workbench with it.


Found four screws, washers, and nuts to bolt the case back together where the rivets were drilled out earlier.





Case all screwed back together and antenna is ready to be re-installed on the car.


9/25/17, 11pm, repaired antenna re-installed.


Radio on, antenna going up...

...and up....

...and up...

Radio on, antenna fully-extended and working like new again!


Facebook video if you want to see it "in action":
https://www.facebook.com/mike.massey.543/posts/10214278086696759

Such Fun!

-Mike

Somewhere in Florida,a guy we all know and respect,is rolling his eyes and muttering,"whatever."

I'm in the process of repairing my antenna now. I have everything cleaned up and ready for re-assembly. My question is, does the orientation of the small gear attached to one half of the case matter? I have not been able to figure out what that gear does so I can't even guess at what the orientation should be. Mine moved in the process of cleaning.

The small gear position matters. It is a stop, so that excess pressure is not put on the cable where it  joins the bottom hook.

The Caprice/wagon cable is the A095. It is 2.5 inches shorter than the RMS/FW part. I do not know the correct part for the RMS, or the FS, but they are both the same.

There is a picture in the thread, of the gear in its correct position for when the antenna is up.

Hmmm. I ordered from The Antenna Source for Buick Roadmaster Wagon 1991-1996 and received an A095. When I add it to the cart it adds A095.

That is the correct one for the RMW.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

That is the correct one for the RMW.

The new A095 is 1-2 inches shorter than what came out of my antenna. I wonder if it had been replaced once with the wrong cable? Or could I have the wrong power unit? Could someone have installed a sedan power unit in my wagon?

Edit: The cable could not have been replaced with the wrong one as the case was still riveted.

Also, I looked at the instructions on the website and there is a procedure for timing the antenna. I'm wondering if that procedure will get the little gear back into the correct position?

Sorry for all the questions but I really don't want to have to do this again for a long time.

The motor unit of the antenna could have been swapped, but then it would have a different connector. 
This picture shows the stop gear in the correct position for the antenna in the down position. A mirror position would be in the up position.

The timing instructions on the Antenna Source website seem to be for getting the little gear in the correct position. I followed the rest of the procedure and everything seems to be working. It retracts and extends and I can hear a slight click just as it stops. At first the antenna would stick out quite a bit even after fully retracting. There is no adjustment to be made with either the little or big gear so I ended up winding the cable around the spool 1 time before putting the cases together. This gave me a pretty good but not perfect result. The antenna sticks out about 1 inch when fully retracted. I've spent over 4 hours messing around with this thing and am out of ideas. The part number on the mast is 22143611. Can anyone tell me if this part number is correct for the RMW? I have not been able to find this part number anywhere on the web. The motor section has a part number of 22128078.

If you pull the finial off of the top, you can cut the mast, and thread the end with a 4-40 die to match the threads in the finial.

Winding the cable around the spool one time was not a solution. That resulted in the antenna not fully extending. Which makes sense as long as the cable is the correct length. So I went back to following the instructions. It turned out that after cycling the antenna 10 or more times everything starting working correctly. Maybe something was bound up from being in the extended position for so long.

For anyone that is interested. The timing procedure was to remove the mast/mast tube and put the case back together. The position of the gears doesn't matter. Turn the key on and radio on then plug the antenna in. Let it run until it stops. Length of time depends on where the gears were when starting. I redid the timing so many times, sometimes it was almost instant other times it was 8 or more seconds. In the end the little gear and the tab on the spool are in the correct position.

Next open up the cases again. For me, when doing so somehow the little gear would always be just a tad off to prohibit the cases from going back together. So I would put the cases back together as far as they would go then pry up just a little and look in with a flashlight and use a thin pick to move the little gear just a hair to line up with the tab on the spool.

Then I attached the hook of the new cable to the spool and installed the gasket/grommet that comes on the new cable into the mast tube opening and put the cases back together with just the clips. At this point the new cable is hanging out of the case without the mast tube.

With the radio and key off plug the power unit back in and let it retract the cable to the point where the metal portion of the cable would just about enter the mast tube. As the instructions stated, it took 2-3 seconds. I set my mast tube next to the cable/power unit for reference. Then I slid the cable into the mast tube/mast assembly. Then I was able to install the mast tube into the power unit by installing one of the rubber ears into the case then there was enough wiggle room to get the other rubber ear into position. Then I screwed on the tip. Plug the power unit back in and let the cable retract the rest of the way. Then I was able to turn the radio on and off to cycle the antenna.

It looks like the bottom section of the mast has a slight curve to it. I'm guessing that is part of the reason it would not retract fully initially. So after fiddling with the alignment of the tubes it seems to be working well. Some of my alignment trials resulted in the motor sounding like it was straining. And the curvature of my mast sections was very subtle.

Sometimes the new cable will not fit smoothly into the mast segments. I have carefully used a file to get a slightly loose fit.